Miles Lockhart Entering Pivotal Stretch of Recruitment

One of Oregon's top cornerback targets is eying his official visits next month.

When I first head of 2024 Chandler (Ariz.) Basha cornerback Miles Lockhart, I was curious to get the full story on what kind of player he was. I asked his head coach Chris McDonald, and he said he was just like Cole Martin, but a year younger.

His coverage ability, short area burst and overall athleticism have helped him earn 23 scholarship offers.

Now he's entering an important stretch of his recruitment as he eyes official visits.

"I have Ohio State the 23rd through the 25th of June," he told Ducks Digest at Basha's spring showcase. "I have Wisconsin the 15th through the 17th of June. I need to set up Oregon. And then I'm probably going to set one up to Texas A&M as well."

As his official visits start to come into focus, his feel for his top schools has also gotten clearer. 

"Those schools really are my top schools. Oregon, Wisconsin, Ohio State, (Texas) A&M."

Texas A&M offered last week and the 5-foot-10, 190-pound spoke about his interest in the Aggies.

"Coach (TJ) Rushing came to see me not too long ago," Lockhart said. "He ended up offering me and we've been keeping in contact a lot. They want me to come up for a visit and OV over there. Definitely a school I want to take interest in."

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Competing with the best in the SEC is part of what has his attention. 

"It's my first SEC offer. Obviously that's the best division in my opinion. It's just that level of competition, the level of kids that are gonna go there that you get to compete against every day. I really like Coach Rushing and I like what he's done with his guys that go through there."

The Wisconsin Badgers are a newer team that's entered the mix and they hosted him on campus recently.

"I have a teammate here, he's committed to Wisconsin. I get to talk to him a lot. I went up there for a visit and they make me feel wanted really. They come after me real hard. They keep in contact with me. 

"I feel like I could fit in for sure. They have a lot of dudes leaving, dude's in the transfer portal because of the new staff coming in. It's gonna be like a whole new room, coming up these years. It would be probably an easier place to start earlier."

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The last time I spoke with Lockhart he was adamant that Ohio State led his recruitment. That's no longer the case.

"I definitely had them high number one," he said. "I don't know, those four schools really all battling it out now," he said. "After they all came in. They've been coming in hard after that. Ohio State was the only school recruiting me super hard. So those schools, I'd say those are really my top four, I wouldn't say any of them are a leader."

Oregon has remained in the mix after signing Lockhart's teammate Cole Martin in 2023. Lockhart visited Eugene for the spring game and spoke about that trip.

"It was really cool because I got to go sit in the meetings for the first time with Coach Meat. I got to see him on the field see how he coaches. It's like I was a player there. I went with Cole everywhere. It was a really good visit I would say for sure."

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The talented corner is well traveled and has seen a number of schools, so what makes the Ducks different?

"They just have a lot of great connections. A lot of great coaches. I really like Coach Lanning when he came in because I loved that Georgia team. I loved their defense specifically. So when I found out he was going to Oregon I thought that was really dope.

"And obviously Coach Meat coming with--that's another huge factor. Coach Meat is literally like my Uncle. I could text him about stuff other than football. That relationship is a lot different than relationships I have with other coaches.

Lockart is set to commit on July 6 and has an idea of what he'll be looking for as he starts official visits.

"What I really need to figure out is how I'm going to fit into each system. What position they want me to play and how they see me just playing in the system. The OV's (are) really just that final push and I think after those I'll really be certain on where I know I want to go."

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